Newt's Thunderbird
by twin192
Summary: After being kicked out of Hogwarts shortly before finishing his seventh year, Newt's parents make him repeat his last year at a different school. Unwilling, frustrated and still hurting from Leta's betrayal, Newt sets out on a new adventure full of new magical creatures, new friendships and new love. Newtina AU
1. Chapter 1

„Welcome to Ilvermorny, Mr. Scamander." Helen Montgomery, Headmistress of Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry said as she shook Newton Scamander's hand after he had gotten off the floor. Taking the floo network had never really agreed with Newt. Taking the international floo network was even worse.

"Thank you." Newt mumbled as he looked over her left shoulder, focusing on a small statue of an impressive looking Thunderbird on a shelf next to the only door in the room.

"Please have a seat." She gestured at a chair standing in front of her large, dark mahogany desk. She sat down behind it, folded her hands in front of her on the desk and mustered him intently. "My name is Helen Montgomery and I am the Headmistress of this school, it's nice to meet you. Albus has told me a little bit about your situation Mr. Scamander. I'd like to hear your version of the events leading you to my office today. And why I should allow you to finish your last year at my school."

Newt gulped nervously, looking at her for a split second. He immediately ducked his face and hid behind his copper colored fringe as her piercing gaze registered in his mind.

"Um, it's nice to meet you too. You see, there was a small misunderstanding. A Jarvey got scared and bit a student. Everyone was fine but the teachers and ministry thought it was bad enough to call it an endangerment of human life."

Montgomery raised an eyebrow. "And what was your involvement in that incident Mr. Scamander?"

Newt started fidgeting. "I've been taking care of the Jarvey before the incident."

"On school grounds?"

Newt nodded.

"As far as I know, keeping unregistered magical creatures on school grounds is illegal at Hogwarts."

"It is."

"And you just ignored this rule?"

Newt dared to look up for a moment, trying to defend himself, but the watchful eyes of the Headmistress changed his mind rather quickly. The fabric of his dark brown pants was much more interesting anyway. It had become rather thin around his knees but there was no hole to find. Yet.

"Mr Scamander?"

Newt jumped. "Sorry. Yes, he needed my help, he was injured when I found him. And he wasn't dangerous. I've been keeping him away from other students. Nobody was ever in danger, I promise."

"And yet, he bit another student. Why?"

Newt started sweating. It wasn't like he could tell her the truth. Leta betrayed him, but he didn't want to be the same as her. Just thinking of her betrayal still hurt but he couldn't just throw away years and years of friendship. He took a deep breath and looked at the Headmistress properly for the first time since arriving in her office. She had dark eyes and dark hair, a few silvery strands woven into her long braid. She was wearing a simple short sleeved shirt and no jewelry. A simple pair of round glasses sat on the tip of her nose, framing her face nicely. She looked like a nice middle aged lady. Only the sharp gaze in her eyes betrayed the fact, that there was more to her than what meets the eye.

"It was an accident."

Montgomery sighed. "That's not the whole story. But I'll let it go for now. Maybe you can answer my other question for me then. Why should I allow you to finish your last year at my school? The teachers at Hogwarts thought the incident with the Jarvey deserved the highest punishment. You weren't even allowed to take your graduation exams, your were sent straight home. I don't need troublemakers or rule breakers."

"I'm not a troublemaker. I didn't intent for the Jarvey to get out, it was unfortunate accident. To be honest, I don't really care if you allow me to finish my last year. I don't need to finish school for me to find a job. I've been working with my mom's Hippogriffs for the whole summer, I don't see a reason why I can't continue doing just that. My parent's don't agree with me though."

"You don't want to be here."

"I don't."

"Well, I'm sorry to tell you, that you have been accepted. Albus used a favor to get you into my school, don't waste it. Last question. Albus has told me that you are overly fond of magical creatures. Do I have to be worried about you bringing unregistered magical creatures onto my school grounds?"

Newt swallowed, thinking about the small green Bowtruckle currently hiding in his left breast pocket.

"No Headmistress, I won't be bringing any magical creatures onto school grounds."

Technically, Pickett was already here. He's been with Newt for a few month now and he didn't think he could get rid of him now even if he wanted to.

Montgomery looked at him for a moment and inclined her head. "Very well. You'll have to get sorted now. Do you know about the different houses at Ilvermorny?"

"Why do I need to get sorted? I already belong to a house."

"Yes you do, and I'm glad you are so loyal to your house but if you are staying with us for the next year, you'll need to be sorted into one of our own houses. Now, do you know anything about them or should I give you a short introduction?"

Newt already knew a little bit about the houses but he wanted to know how the Headmistress would describe them. "A short overview would be quite helpful."

"Alright. There are four houses at Ilvermorny. Horned Serpent, Wampus, Thunderbird and Pukwudgie. It is said that the Horned Serpent generally favors scholars, the Wampus favors warriors, the Thunderbird favors adventurers and the Pukwudgie favors healers. There is more to the houses than that, of course, but we don't have all day. You can ask the other students more about the houses later if you want to. I'll be leading you downstairs to the entrance hall now, where you will stand on the Gordian Knot. A house will choose you then."

Headmistress Montgomery stood up and motioned for Newt to follow her. He hurried after her, quickly grabbing his suitcase. "Um, how exactly will they choose me?"

"There are four statues of the magical animals the houses are named after in the entrance hall. You'll know if they want you to belong to their house, don't worry about it."

Newt hated these kinds of answers. What's wrong with answering a question directly? Why did people feel the need to stay vague or keep them in the dark when they clearly know more than they are sharing? He probably won't be getting any additional answers out of Montgomery now, trying again would be a waste of his time. He put his hands in his front pockets and shuffled after her. It wasn't like he had a choice to be anywhere else so following her was his only option. He didn't have to like it though.

They walked through the halls of the school, past various doors and a lot of students walking to or from classes. The students looked at him with interest but the scowl on his face made it clear that he didn't want to be bothered by anyone.

After a few minutes of walking, they arrived in the entrance hall. A few students were standing together in groups, talking and laughing. When they noticed the Headmistress walking past them, they all smiled and greeted her. Montgomery nodded to all of them and responded to their greetings. She knew all of their names. Newt was a little surprised about that. Ilvermorny was not a small school, in fact, if he gauged the amount of students he had already seen and the little research he had done on this school over the summer (he knew he wouldn't get out of attending this school, so he thought it better if he came as prepared as possible), Ilvermorny housed even more students than Hogwarts did.

"Mr. Scamander would you please stand in the middle of the Gordian Knot now?"

Newt had barely noticed that Montgomery had stopped walking, still thinking about everything he had read about Ilvermorny, and nearly walked into her. Thankfully, he had stopped just in time. Walking into anything or anyone wouldn't be the best first impression. And even though he didn't want to be here, he was still self conscious enough not to want to make a fool out of himself on his first day. He nodded at Montgomery and stepped out onto the Gordian Knot.

Nothing happened.

He started getting nervous, thinking he failed some unknown test, but just as he was about to turn his head to look at the Headmistress, the statues started coming alive. The crystal in the head of the statue of the Horned Serpent started glowing at the same time as the Thunderbird started beating it's wings.

A few students murmured excitedly for a moment before an uncomfortable silence swept into the room. Newt was looking at the statues with interest but when nothing else happened, he turned his head to look at the Headmistress. "Um, what now?"

Montgomery looked surprised but couldn't help the smile from showing up on her face. "Well, that's a surprise. Sometimes, more than one house chooses a student. It's your choice now, Mr. Scamander. Choose wisely."

"How am I supposed to choose wisely, I don't really know much about the houses."

"Use your instincts, Mr. Scamander."

Newt sighed. Another one of those useless answers. _Okay then,_ he told himself. _Horned Serpent or Thunderbird?_

He looked at the statues, waiting for some kind of clue, but they remained still. _What did the headmistress say? Scholars and adventurers? To be honest, I'm not particularly studious and adventures are exhausting._

Newt shuffled around for a little. Looking at the statues, the students, the Headmistress and the floor. He hated all of this attention. _To hell with this, I'm only going to stay here for one year, what does it matter which house I belong to. I'll always be a Hufflepuff._

Looking at the statues again, he made up his mind. "Um, Thunderbird?"

The statue of the Thunderbird beat it's wings excitedly for a moment before going still once more. The statue of the Horned Serpent stopped glowing as well.

Montgomery walked up to him and clapped him on the shoulder. "Congratulations. The house elves are going to prepare your room. You've got your wand, yes?"

Newt looked at her strangely. "Of course I do. I've had it since I was eleven. And I am 18 years old. I'm an adult."

"Of course you are Mr. Scamander. Follow me please."

Newt started shuffling after her, hands stuffed deeply into his pockets. _Another year at school, great. I could use my time so much better if I helped mom with the Hippogriffs._ He didn't pay much attention to his surroundings, just blindly following the dark brown leather boots the Headmistress was wearing.

They arrived at their destination after a few minutes of quiet walking. "This is your room, Mr. Scamander. I trust you'll find your way back to the entrance hall? Dinner will be at six in the large dining room next to the entrance hall. Just follow all of the other students, you can't miss it. Your class schedule should be on the desk in your room, your robes should be in your closet. Classes start tomorrow. I'll leave you to unpack your things now. If you do have a problem with your class schedule or in general, just find me or another teacher. Or ask another student, if you ask nicely, they'll probably help you."

Montgomery turned around and started taking a step in the direction they had just come from when the things she had said registered with Newt. "Wait!"

She stopped walking and turned around again, one eyebrow lifted questioningly. "Yes?"

"Um, you said this was my room. As in my own room? You don't have dormitories? I won't have to share a room with the other boys in my year?"

"That is correct Mr. Scamander. We do have dormitories for the younger students, to encourage friendships and getting to know your classmates, but as soon as you start your sixth year, every student gets their own room. You should be able to concentrate on your studies and not be distracted by your classmates. You do have a lot of catching up to do, Mr. Scamander. I expect you to use the peace and quiet of your room to catch up on the things you have missed while missing your classes. We don't have the same requirements for graduation as Hogwarts does. I'm sure you'll notice that soon enough. You only have one year to catch up on topics the other students have been studying for six years."

"Um, okay. Thank you."

"Was that all or do you need anything else?"

"Um, I'm good."

"Alright." Montgomery nodded at him. "I expect you to try your hardest at graduating in a year, especially if you don't want to be here. Repeating a year for a second time isn't going to look great all things considered."

Newt looked at her with wide eyes, before he noticed her staring back and switched his focus on a painting of a bored looking middle aged gentleman, reclining in a deep red armchair and petting the white cat lounging in his lap over her left shoulder. "I'm going to try my best, Headmistress."

"Excellent. I'll leave you to your things now, alright? Don't forget, dinner is in three hours, don't miss it or you'll probably go hungry until the morning." With that, Montgomery turned around and left him standing in front of his door.

He looked after her for a few more minutes, ordering his thoughts. Eventually, he turned around and opened the door to the room he would probably be spending most of the next year in.

There was nothing special about it. He had a window, a single bed pushed into the far corner under the window, a dresser and a desk with a wooden chair in front of it. It wasn't a big room, but Newt was just glad that he didn't have to share the room with strangers. He hadn't really gotten along with the boys in his year at Hogwarts even after knowing them for seven years.

He stepped into the room fully, closing the door and locking it and put his suitcase on his desk. There was another door in the room he hadn't really seen when he had walked in. It was positioned slightly behind his dresser. He walked towards it and opened it curiously. There was a small room, containing a bathtub, some buckets and a place to relief himself. Newt couldn't help but be impressed by the comfort this school seemed to offer it's students. A private bathroom directly next to his room. He hadn't even had a private bathroom at home. His parent's mansion was quite big and they did have a few bathrooms scattered around the long halls of it but not directly adjourned to the bedrooms. He was starting to like this school.

"Hey Pick, want to take a look at our new home for the next year?" Newt asked as he fished the small green Bowtruckle out of his front pocket. Pickett looked around the small room and chirped approvingly. Newt chuckled. "Yes, it's better than at Hogwarts. I'm glad I don't need to hide you in the case all the time. You can run around freely here, but when somebody comes in, you hide somewhere, got it? Not that I think I'll ever get visitors, but better save than sorry."

Pickett nodded his small head and slowly made his way down Newt's arm until he reached the small wooden desk. He mustered the dark wood for a moment, deeming it acceptable and walked over to the piece of paper laying on top of it.

"What do you have there Pick?"

Newt snatched the paper from Pickett, earning himself a rude gesture from the small creature. "Don't start, Pick. I'll let you play with it when I'm done reading it, okay?"

Pickett looked at him with wide eyes and crossed his little arms in front of his tiny green chest. "Don't pout Pick, I'll be done soon."

Newt unfolded the piece of paper and quickly memorized what appeared to be his schedule.

Apart from the usual classes like Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, History of Magic (he could already hear Professor Binns sleep inducing monotone monologues droning in the back of his head), Defense against the Dark Arts, Care of Magical Creatures (he was very interested in that particular subject) he also had a class called Native American Magic. He had never heard of a class like that in all of his time at Hogwarts. He guessed he would have the most trouble in that class. If he had to learn everything the other students had learned in the last six years, he would definitely not have time for anything else.

There was also a list of books he needed for his classes included in the timetable. And a reference that he didn't need to buy them, he could just borrow them from the school's library.

 _I guess the library will be my first destination then._ He went over to the closet and found his blue and cranberry colored robes. He quickly put them on, fastening the front with a gold Gordian Knot.

"Pick, do you want to accompany me or do you want to stay here?" He asked, coming back to stand next to the wooden desk.

Pickett started running to him on spindly legs, trying to ascend his home tree as fast as possible, lest he be left behind. Newt chuckled as Pickett made himself comfortable in Newt's new breast pocket. Thankfully these robes had pockets as well. He didn't want to deal with any tantrums if there hadn't been a pocket for Pickett anywhere on his person. "I guess I didn't really have to ask. Let's go and search for the library."

Newt turned around, opened the door and stepped into the hallway. _Colloportus_ , Newt mumbled, aiming his wand at his door. He didn't think that people would try to break into his room, but if they did, he didn't want to make it too easy for them.

 _Now, where would I find the library_ , he asked himself as he started walking in the direction they had came from earlier. Going to the entrance hall, finding some students and asking them for directions seemed to be the fastest way of finding the library. He couldn't quite remember the route the headmistress had taken when she had led him to his room, but going straight seemed like a good plan for now. He looked around the halls for the first time since arriving and noticed that Ilvermorny didn't look all that different to Hogwarts. Rows and rows of paintings lined the walls, ranging from magical portraits to simple muggle landscapes. He followed them until he reached the end of the hallway. Listening closely to the sounds of chattering students, Newt chose to take a left turn and after a few more minutes of walking, he reached the entrance hall.

 _That wasn't so hard. Now, who looks friendly enough?_ Newt looked around at the students. Some of them were standing around in groups, talking among themselves, but most of them were just passing through. He stood there for a few minutes, trying to find the right moment to interrupt a group of friendly looking girls when a voice next to him surprised him. "Are you looking for something, honey?"

He jumped, not having noticed the girl approach. She looked at him with big friendly eyes and a nice smile on her face. She had short blonde hair that stopped just shy of her shoulders, framing her face nicely and warm blue eyes. She looked a few years younger than him and barely reached his shoulders. She was looking at him expectantly, while he stared.

A small pinch from his breast pocket made him aware of his rude behavior. He jumped again, raising his eyes to look at her left ear. "I'm terribly sorry for my rude behavior, I hope you can forgive me. I didn't mean to stare. Um, would you be able to point me in the direction of the library? I'm new around here and I don't really know where anything is except for the headmistress' office, my room and this hall."

The blonde girl giggled. "It's quite alright. You're British, right?"

"Oh, um yes. How did you know?"

"The accent. My name is Queenie Goldstein and I would be happy to show you around a little."

Newt's eyes widened. "I'm so sorry, I don't know where I left my head today. My name is Newt Scamander, it's very nice to meet you. If you tell me where I would find the library, I can just go and find it on my own. I don't want to inconvenience you any further."

Queenie smiled at him brightly. "You're not inconveniencing me in any way. I don't have anything important to do at the moment, I'd be happy to show you the way."

Newt swallowed but nodded slowly. "Thank you then." _Good job Newt, that's exactly how you make new friends. Could you be any more awkward?_

Queenie giggled and turned around, taking a few steps, waiting for Newt to follow her. "It's really no trouble. Come on, the library is this way."

Newt followed her, observing the halls as they passed them. He was used to the talking paintings from Hogwarts but they usually didn't pay him much attention. The witches and wizards in these paintings all watched him curiously, chatting among themselves quietly, some even following him by jumping from painting to painting.

"So, Newt. Am I allowed to call you Newt?"

"Um, sure Miss Goldstein."

Queenie swatted his arm playfully. "None of that, Newt. Call me Queenie please."

"Um, okay."

"You're cute. Anyway, what brings you to Ilvermorny? You're not exactly the right age to start your education."

 _Did she just call me cute?_

Queenie giggled again. Newt looked at her uncomfortably. "I'm just finishing my last year here. There were some... problems at Hogwarts and I couldn't finish my education there."

"Oh, you went to Hogwash! I mean, Hogwarts, how exciting! You have to tell me everything about Great Britain and Hogwarts. I've never been out of America you know, and I find the British wizarding society just so interesting. Is it true that the student's can keep their wands even when they are not in school?"

"Of course. Why would they take our wands away?" Newt asked, confusion coloring his voice.

"When students go home for the holidays, their wands need to stay at school. I guess they want to prevent underage magic in places that aren't as safe as Ilvermorny. I don't really know why, they've never taken my wand but that's because I've never left school since I started attending. Anyway, here we are!" Queenie motioned to a huge wooden door, adorned with thousands of small beautiful carvings.

"You've never left the school? What about your family?" Newt blurted out before he could stop himself. The brief flash of hurt and sadness that showed up on Queenie's face made Newt feel particularly bad about his rude question. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry, it just..."

"Queenie!"

Newt and Queenie turned around, searching for the voice that had spoken.

Queenie's face lit up when her eyes fell on a tall, brown-haired and brown-eyed girl, standing a few feet away from them. "Teenie!" Queenie hurried over to the girl, embracing her in a tight hug.

Newt shuffled awkwardly from one foot to the other. He really wanted to get going but it would be rude to not thank Queenie for her help. But interrupting her quiet conversation with the other girl would be equally as rude.

As if noticing his discomfort, Queenie disentangled herself from the taller girl, grabbed her hand and pulled her over to Newt.

"I'm sorry Newt, this is Teenie, my sister. Teenie, this is Newt Scamander. He's new here. And he is British."

The tall girl mustered him for a moment, causing him to start sweating. He wasn't used to such scrutiny. After a few moments, she extended her hand. "I'm Tina Goldstein, it's nice to meet you."

Newt gulped, grabbing the outstretched hand for a weak hand shake. He hoped his hands weren't sweating too much. "Um, yes, it's nice to meet you. My name is Newt Scamander."

Tina nodded at him. "Okay." She turned her head to look at Queenie. "I have to talk to you, can we go somewhere private?"

"Sure." Queenie nodded, turned around and smiled brightly at Newt. "You'll find your way back, right?"

Newt nodded hastily. "Yes, of course. Thank you for your help Queenie."

"My pleasure." The blonde girl giggled again and walked off, being pulled away by Tina. "Maybe we'll see each other at dinner!" She called before they rounded a corner.

"Um, maybe." Newt muttered, sure that nobody had heard his reply.

 _That was weird_ , he thought. _Nice, but weird._

He shrugged and turned to face the library doors. He made his way over and opened one of the doors. What greeted him were rows and rows of tall dark wooden shelves filled to the brim with all kinds of books. He couldn't even see where the room ended. He took a few steps into the room, looking around in awe. He had always loved books of all kinds and had spend countless hours in the library at Hogwarts and in his father's private library at home, but they couldn't compare to the size of this room.

A dark, friendly chuckle next to him startled Newt. He turned around to see a friendly looking boy around his age looking at him. He had dark short hair and the beginning fuzz of a mustache on his upper lip. His eyes looked warm and very kind.

"That's everybody's reaction when they first come in here. It's an amazing sight, isn't it? Even after coming in here for over six years, I still get the chills sometimes. So much knowledge confined to a single space. It's amazing. Oh, I'm sorry, the name's Jacob. Jacob Kowalski. I help the librarian out sometimes. You look like you're looking for something. Can I help you?"

"Um, I'm Newt Scamander, it's nice to meet you. And I'm looking for some school books for the seventh year. I was told that I didn't need to buy them and could just borrow them from here."

Jacob nodded. "Certainly. What subjects are you taking? I'll go and get the books you'll need for your classes."

"That's really nice of you, thank you. But I can get them myself, I don't want to inconvenience you."

Jacob laughed good-naturedly and clapped him on the shoulder a little harder than Newt had expected, making Newt stumble for a moment.

"Sorry pal. It's really no problem. Why don't we go and get them together?"

Newt nodded, following him into the maze of shelves that opened up before them. Newt told Jacob which books he needed and the two of them started walking to get them. Jacob kept on chattering cheerily to Newt while Newt just smiled and nodded, not knowing what to say. This didn't seem to bother Jacob, looking quite content while keeping up a conversation without any input from Newt.

After they had found every book Newt needed, they made their way back to the front, checking out the books for Newt. He thanked Jacob profusely for his help, whipped his wand out, muttered _Wingardium Leviosa_ , and made his way out of the library, the borrowed books following him on their own, flying lightly through the air.

He arrived at his room without any problems, put the books on his desk, pushed off his shoes and sat down on his bed. Pickett crawled out of his pocket and made himself comfortable on top of Newt's head. Newt summoned one of the books, cracked it open and immersed himself in his studies.

He had a lot of reading to do.


	2. Chapter 2

They had just arrived at Tina's room after the older sister had pulled Queenie away from the library and away from Newt. Queenie made herself comfortable on the soft, dark blue couch Tina had transfigured last year when she had gotten her own room.

„What's up Teenie?"

Tina pulled off her robes and kicked her shoes off before sitting down on her bed, facing Queenie. "You're doing it again."

Queenie pouted. "He seems like a nice guy. I was just trying to be friendly."

Tina sighed. "Queenie, why are you doing this to yourself all the time? I know you want friends, real friends, but it's not like you'll make friends by walking up to them and introducing yourself."

"Um, sorry to burst your bubble Teen, but that's exactly how you do it. I know it's been a while for you, but I didn't expect you to be this rusty."

Tina snorted, throwing a pillow at her sister's face. _Brat._

Queenie giggled and threw the pillow back at Tina, who caught it and put it out of her sister's reach. "Seriously Queenie, you know as well as I do that you'll get hurt. Just like all the other times."

Queenie sighed. "That's probably true. But Teenie, I can't just sit around and do nothing. I have to try. Mom and dad always told us to fight for what we wanted, and I want friends. Why shouldn't I try?"

Tina pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, resting her face on her knees while looking at her sister. "I know. But it's not fair to you and it's not fair to them. You can't have a real friendship with someone and not tell them that you can hear their every thought. It doesn't work like that. Both of you will get hurt sooner or later."

Queenie crossed her arms in front of her chest, sitting a little straighter on the couch. "What am I supposed to do then? Tell them I'm a natural Legilimens and ask if they are okay with me reading their thoughts because I can't really control it all that well yet and that I sometimes have to run away from them because all the thoughts are getting too much?"

Tina sighed. "That's not what I meant and you know it."

"I would, you know? Just tell everybody and we can be done with all these secrets."

Tina's eyes opened wide and she turned her head to look at her sister urgently. "You can't do that! You know that, Queenie! Promise me! Promise me you'll never tell anybody!"

Queenie couldn't follow all the wild thoughts rushing through her sister's mind, only getting flashes of pictures and thoughts. She grabbed her head and grimaced. "Teenie, would you calm down please? It's too much."

Tina jumped, only now realizing the pained expression on her sister's face. Slamming up her Occlumency shields immediately, she looked at her sister apologetically. "I'm sorry Queenie. But I'm serious, you have to promise me not to tell anybody what you can do. Ever."

"Can you imagine how hard this is for me? Some people are projecting their thoughts really loudly, I can't shut them out."

Tina moved over to her sister and wrapped her up in a hug. "I know. I know I expect a lot from you. And I'm really sorry about that. But you know why you need to keep your abilities a secret, right?"

Queenie nodded sadly. "I know. I just sometimes wish I had never gotten this ability."

"Don't say that. It has saved us more often than I can count. I am grateful for you. And for your ability. Even though some privacy would be appreciated sometimes."

Queenie scoffed. "What would you need privacy for? You haven't even looked at any boys for as long as I have known you."

Tina's face started burning and she slapped her sister lightly. "Not that kind of privacy!"

Giggling loudly, Queenie hid her face in her sister's shoulder. "I know. I'm just teasing you."

"I know. Can you promise me?"

Sighing deeply, Queenie nodded. "Yes, I promise. It's really hard not to cheat at written exams though. Can you imagine? I'd never have to study again, I could just pluck the right answers out of the professor's head."

"You know that cheating won't help you with the practical side of things."

"Yeah yeah, I'm sorry. But a girl can dream, right?"

"Right." Tina agreed.

They stayed silent for a while, enjoying each others presence. Queenie started shifting after a few minutes. "I'm sill going to talk to Newt again."

"I know."

"We can all become friends, wouldn't that be exciting?"

"I don't need friends."

"He's British."

Tina raised an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean."

"I heard British men are gentlemen. I'm sure he is a really nice guy underneath all that awkward exterior."

"You're sure? You don't know?"

Queenie shrugged her shoulders. "I didn't really get much from him. It's the accent. It's much more pronounced in his mind."

"Be careful please."

"I always am."

The low grumbling of his stomach and some light tugging on his hair woke Newt up from his slumber. He stretched his limbs and yawned loudly. A hollow thud could be heard as he started to get up and Pickett started chirping animatedly.

After his bleary eyes had finally opened enough to see his surroundings, he noticed the slowly rising sun and quickly looked at his watch. 6:55 am. He hadn't overslept, thank god. He didn't want to be late to his first day of classes. And he was famished, missing breakfast would be equally as bad.

Turning his body around, he sat up, his feet just missing the book that had fallen off the bed earlier.

 _I must have fallen asleep last night_ , Newt thought as he sniffed at his clothes. _Classes start at 8, there should be enough time for a quick bath._ Newt quickly freshened up in his bathroom and was ready to go twenty minutes later. He quickly fed Pickett, put on his robes and shoes, let Pickett climb into his pockett and was off to find the dining hall. Or whatever it was called here, he just wanted to find the place where the food was.

After finding the entrance hall again, it wasn't hard to find the food. He had followed a stream of other students around a corner when the loud chatter of a few hundred people and the heavenly smell of breakfast registered with him. Stopping before entering the hall he took a minute to observe the room.

It was big. That was the first thing Newt noticed. Bigger than the great hall but he was sad to notice that they didn't have an enchanted ceiling here. He still remembered the awe he had felt as he had stepped into the great hall at Hogwarts for the first time as a young boy. Ilvermorny had a normal ceiling made out of stone, nothing special about it. The big house tables he was used to from Hogwarts were missing as well. There were dozens of bigger and smaller tables scattered across the room, Newt couldn't make out any order to them. There wasn't even a big table for the teachers. Judging by age, he guessed the teachers were sitting in the far left corner, some of them sitting alone while they ate and read the paper and some of them sitting together in groups, happily chatting to each other. He could even make out one or two students sitting with a teacher.

The students were scattered across the room, mostly sitting together with their house mates but he could make out a few students sitting with students from a different house. Nobody looked at them funny or anything, so Newt thought house pride wasn't as big a thing as it had been at Hogwarts. He had had a few friends from other houses, of course, but it was always a bit of a gamble to show up together at the great hall. It wasn't frowned upon, they were actually encouraged to make friends with people from different houses by the teachers, hence the shared classes they had, but some students didn't feel the same and didn't react well to people having friends from other houses.

Another difference to Hogwarts was that the food didn't already sit on the table, waiting for students to eat it. If he had observed it correctly, people just asked for what they wanted and it appeared in front of them.

The growling of his stomach reminded him why he was here and that he didn't have all day to stare if he wanted any breakfast. Before he could search for an empty table to sit at, a hand clapped him on the back forcefully and he stumbled a little.

"Ah, sorry pal. I just wanted to say good morning. Do you want to sit together?"

Newt turned around after he had stood up straight again and was met with Jacob's smiling face.

"Um, sure. Good morning to you too."

Jacob grinned and started leading him to an empty table. "Excellent. How was your first night here? Did you sleep well?"

The two boys sat down at an empty table and Newt watched as Jacob told the thin air what he wanted to eat. _What kind of magic is this? Do they have house elves in the kitchen as well?_ he wondered as he carefully asked for a cup of tea and two slices of buttered toast. It appeared immediately, his tea still steaming hot. He bit into the toast with gusto, his stomach remembering that it hadn't had dinner last night.

"Ah, sorry Jacob, I am a bit hungry. I slept well, thank you for asking."

"Good, good. So, you're starting your classes today, yes?"

Newt nodded, carefully taking a sip of his steaming cup of tea. It wasn't as good as his mother's, or as good as the one he could brew, but it was acceptable. "Yes. I've had most of these classes before so I don't think I'm going to have much of a problem with them but I've never had Native American Magic before. What kind of magic is it?"

Jacob grinned. "Oh, you're going to have fun in that one. No wands allowed, pal. It's basically a wandless magic class."

Newt's eyes widened in surprise. "Are you serious? I thought wandless magic was really difficult to learn."

"It is. But every student has to be able to do at least some basic spells wandlessly to graduate. Of course some people are better at it than others and you are allowed to drop it after a year if you're really struggling, but you are required to take it for at least a year and learn some basic spells. If you're really good at it and you've mastered enough spells wandlessly, the professor is even giving you the option of getting some animagus training. Only the best students get in that class though. Professor Etsitty is really strict when it comes to that class. Only a handful of people take it each year."

"Great. How am I supposed to learn all that in a year?" Newt mumbled, more to himself than to Jacob but the other boy still heard him.

"Don't worry about it, I'm sure you're going to do great."

"I'm not so sure about that."

"Relax pal, don't panic before you even know what you're panicking about. When do you have your fist Wandless Magic Class?"

"This afternoon."

"Don't worry then, you've still got some time. What class do you have this morning?"

"Potions."

"Ah, me too. We can go together and I can show you the classroom if you want."

"That would be great, actually. Are you a Thunderbird as well?"

Jacob chuckled. "Nah, I'm a Pukwudgie." He said and tapped the crest on his chest. "But we share potions and some other classes with the 'birds."

Newt hesitated for a moment but asked his question when Jacob looked at him encouragingly. "You don't have a problem with me being in another house?"

Jacob shrugged. "Why would I?"

"It's just, at Hogwarts we had different houses as well and there was always a massive emphasis on house pride. Most people didn't really want to have anything to do with the other houses."

"Eh, there is some house pride going on here as well, but mostly when it comes to Quodpod. You wouldn't believe the things the students say to each other during a game of that. But people aren't generally bothered by houses."

"But why do you have them then?"

"Mostly? Connections. Getting to know your peers early on is quite helpful for a career. And friendships of course. And it's nice to be surrounded by and share classes with people who share at least some of your interests, no?"

"Well, yes, I guess so, but I still don't really get it."

Jacob chuckled and stood up, waiting for Newt to do the same. "Don't worry about it, pal, you'll get used to it. Now, if we don't want to be late, we have to go."

Newt nodded and followed as Jacob led him out of the dining hall and down a corridor he hadn't been in yet. He was grateful the other boy had decided to help him and show him around, otherwise he would have gotten hopelessly lost, he was sure about it.

They arrived a few minutes later. The room was nondescript, looking like every other classroom he had ever been in. The only difference was the cauldrons scattered across the room. Most of the students were already standing or sitting at the tables, chatting with each other animatedly. As he swept his gaze across the room, he actually recognized someone. It was the brunette girl Queenie had introduced to him yesterday. What was her name again? Something with a t...

Before he could think about her name further, a tall, middle-aged man walked into the room, closed the door behind him and walked to the front of the room. Newt looked around the room hurriedly, trying to find a free seat. Jacob tucked at his sleeve and silently motioned to a seat two rows behind him. Newt hurried over to the seat and sat down. He was glad there was nobody sitting next to him. Not that he wasn't grateful for Jacob's help but a little peace and quiet from social activities were just what he craved. He wasn't used to so many people.

"Good morning everyone. I'm sure you all noticed this but we have a new student today. Mr. Scamander, would you mind introducing yourself briefly?"

He did, in fact, mind very much. He gulped nervously as all the students turned around and mustered him with varying degrees of interest. He began sweating and nearly stumbled over nothing as he tried standing up hastily. "Um", he began, not sure where to look. "My name is Newt Scamander and I'm finishing my last year of schooling here. I used to go to Hogwarts." Deeming that enough information for one day, Newt quickly sat down again.

The teacher mustered him through skeptical eyes. "That was... quite informative. Anyway, my name is Professor Johnson and I teach potions. I take it you are familiar with brewing potions?"

Newt nodded, still uncomfortable with the continued attention. "Yes, sir."

"I heard you nearly finished your seventh year at Hogwarts so I trust you will be familiar with most of our curriculum. If not, feel free to ask. I need to evaluate your skill level and I don't want to let you do a written exam, those are dreadfully boring. So I will watch you a little closer over the next few weeks, trying to determine your competence."

Great. He could do without people paying him any kind of close attention. Not wanting to irritate the teacher in anyway, Newt just nodded.

"Very well." Professor Johnson steered his attention to the whole class and started talking about a potion that heals paralysis. It seems like they would be brewing a lot of medicines and antidotes over the next few weeks. Newt was fine with that. He had already brewed quite a few of them and he thought they were very useful. One never knew when such a potion would come in handy.

The rest of the class went by pretty quickly. After telling them about the Anti-Paralysis Potion, Professor Johnson told them to open their textbooks on page 25 and start the preparations. After that, each student got their own cauldron and started their potion. Newt didn't have any problems, having made this specific potion before at Hogwarts. Jacob came by twice and asked if everything was going okay and if he needed any help but Newt told him he was fine each time. Mustering Newt's cauldron, Jacob came to the conclusion the he didn't need any help and went back to his own table, where he started a conversation with the boy sitting next to him.

Newt was glad for the peace and quiet and enjoyed the rest of the class.

When the class was over it was time for lunch. Newt quickly put his things away and before he could think about how he would find his way back to the dining hall, Jacob was already next to him.

"Ready, pal?"

"Yes, thank you." The two of them started walking. "Jacob, not that I'm not grateful but I feel like I'm taking too much of your time. Don't you want to spend time with your own friends?"

Jacob smiled at him. "Don't worry about it pal. They understand. And it's not like I spend every meal with them anyway. I spend a lot of my free time helping out in the library."

"Well, thank you for your continued help then."

The other boy grinned and clapped him on the back again. Newt stumbled again. _I guess I have to get used to this_ , he thought as he straightened up.

They arrived at the dining hall and grabbed a table. They sat down and Jacob ordered some mashed potatoes and steak. "Um, Jacob?"

"Yeah?"

"How do you know what kind of food they have in the kitchen?"

Jacob chuckled. "I've been at this school for over six years. I know their usual schedule."

"Um. Any suggestion what I should get today?"

Jacob laughed, apologized and quickly told Newt what was on the menu today. After ordering some steamed vegetables and potatoes, Newt dug in with gusto, enjoying the food.

When Newt had eaten everything, the plate vanished. _Neat_ , he thought.

"So, Jacob, what in Merlin's beard is Quodpod?"

Jacob looked at him with a shocked look on his face, a piece of steak nearly falling off his fork. "You don't have Quodpod at Hogwash?"

"Hogwarts" Newt corrected.

"Sorry. No offense, pal."

"None taken. And no, we don't. We play Quidditch."

Jacob was just about to start explaining, when a bright voice interrupted them.

"Newt! Oh, isn't it just wonderful to see you again! You don't mind if we sit with you two, right?" Queenie asked, already sitting down at their table. She had dragged Tina along who stood next to them with a long suffering expression on her face.

"Um, sure, go ahead." Newt mumbled, not sure what to say in this situation that didn't sound rude. He thought Queenie was nice and friendly and he was grateful for her help, but he didn't want to make friends. He just wanted to finish this year so he could return home to the Hippogriffs.

Queenie looked at him with a glint in her eyes before grinning brightly. "Thank you!" She turned around to look at Jacob while Tina sat down next to her, quietly ordering a meal for herself and her sister. "I'm sorry, I've seen you before but I don't quite remember your name. I'm Queenie, it's nice to meet you."

Jacob smiled and nodded at her. "I know who you are. My name is Jacob, I'm two years your senior."

"Great!" The young blonde smiled and looked back at Newt. "So, how was your first class? Teenie said nothing exploded."

Newt's eyes narrowed. "I'm perfectly able to brew a potion, thank you very much. I'm actually quite good at potions."

Queenie's laugh sounded like the tinkling of small bells. "Sorry Newt, I'm just teasing you. So everything went well?"

Newt shrugged. "I guess so."

Queenie mustered him for a second before turning her attention to Jacob. "He's not the most talk-active, is he?"

Jacob guffawed. "Nah, but he's a nice guy. Very polite. I think that's because he's British."

The blonde girl giggled and started a conversation about all the things she had heard about 'the Brits' with Jacob. They seemed to be getting along swimmingly.

Newt was glad the younger girl's attention was elsewhere for the moment and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, he saw that Tina was watching him. He looked at her questioningly but she just smiled tightly and shook her head, continuing to eat her lunch.

 _Odd_ , he thought, looking at her a little closer. She was pretty, he guessed. Wavy brown hair that barely reached her shoulders and brown eyes. And tall. She was nearly as tall as Newt himself and he always got reprimanded by his mom about his tall height because she couldn't give him a comfortable hug anymore.

"Oh sweetie, you're nervous?" Queenie's voice pierced through his thought's like a sweet melody that was way too loud and he jumped in his seat. He turned to look at Queenie who was watching him with a soft smile.

"Um, what?"

"Jacob told me you were nervous about your NAM class."

"My what now?"

Queenie rolled her eyes. "Native American Magic. Wandless magic."

"Oh, well, I suppose I am. I've never had it before."

"Don't worry, Teenie can help you. She's great at Wandless Magic."

"What?"

"What?"

Newt and Tina asked at the same time, looking at Queenie with confusion (Newt) and annoyance (Tina).

"Well, you are great at it Teenie. You are getting your animagus lessons right now, so you don't really have much to do in NAM anyway. You can help him, can't you?" Queenie looked at her sister imploringly.

"I'm busy Queenie. You know that."

"But he's my friend."

 _I am? When did that happen?_ Newt thought, not really knowing what was going on anymore.

"Animagus lessons are hard. It's not like I'm just sitting around doing nothing."

"But didn't you tell me that the first step to becoming an animagus is to meditate with a potion, trying to find you spirit animal? Sounds like sitting around and doing nothing to me."

Tina sighed. "Meditating is not doing nothing."

"Um, Queenie, I'm grateful that you want to help me but I don't even know what is expected of me. And if Miss Goldstein is busy, I don't want to take up too much of her time." Newt said, looking like he wanted to be anywhere else.

"Nonsense, she can make some time. Can't you?" Queenie looked at her sister imploringly, daring her to say the wrong thing.

 _I'm going to pay you back for this Queenie. You won't notice what hit you._ Tina thought loudly, hoping her sister would get a headache from the sheer volume of her thoughts.

Queenie winced but turned around to Newt. "She'll help you, don't worry. Now, it's time we get going, afternoon classes are starting soon. Teenie, show him where the classroom is, see you all at dinner!" She chirped and left the table quickly, leaving three people in stunned silence.

Jacob was the first one to regain his voice. "Well, I don't have to show you to your classroom then. I've got History of Magic now, I'll see you at dinner, pal." Jacob clapped him on the back, nodded at Tina and went on his way.

That left Newt and Tina alone. She still hadn't said anything and Newt was getting nervous.

"Um, you really don't have to help me Miss Goldstein, I'm sure I'll find my way to class myself."

Tina snorted and got up. "Please call me Tina. And it's not a problem, I'm going the same way anyway. Might as well show you where you need to be."

She started walking and Newt hurried to follow her, keeping a step of distance between them, not really knowing how to approach this situation. He knew Tina didn't want to help him with classes but it's not like he had asked her to and he didn't even know if he needed any help to begin with. Well, he probably did, let's be honest, but he thought Queenie's offer of help was a little premature.

They walked in silence for a few moments, until they reached the classroom.

Three hours later Newt retracted his earlier statement. He did need help. Desperately. Professor Etsitty had been patient with him and spend nearly the whole three hours helping him while the other students had a different assignment, but he hadn't managed to do even the simplest spell or charm wandlessly. Professor Etsitty had assured him that this was normal, that witches and wizards were so used to channeling magic through their wands that doing it without one was really difficult at first. He was sure Newt would get it eventually but he also encouraged him to get a tutor. The professor had given him the option of taking the beginner classes with the first year students but Newt had refused immediately. Even if he didn't have a lot of it, he still had his pride and he didn't want to be made fun of by snotty eleven year-olds.

Learning enough wandless magic to graduate in a year was going to be really hard. Maybe he should ask Tina for help after all. She had already kind of agreed after Queenie had bullied her into it, right? Right.


	3. Chapter 3

The rest of the week had been busy for Newt. He had gone to all of his classes and had continued to eat his meals with Jacob. More often than not, Queenie had joined them, chatting to them endlessly. Jacob seemed to be quite taken with her and she seemed to be equally as interested in him, so Newt didn't have to participate in conversation all too often. Which he was glad about.

Sometimes, Tina joined them. Not of her own free will, if he gauged her expression correctly but she was there. And whenever the four of them shared a meal, Queenie and Jacob talked and laughed loudly while Tina and Newt ate their meals silently, glancing at each other occasionally.

On one of those occasions, Newt had made up his mind and had asked her if she would be willing to help him with wandless magic. The classes he had already taken at Hogwarts were relatively easy and he didn't have to study for them too much but wandless magic was a lot harder than he had anticipated. He needed help and since he didn't really know anyone else at school yet, he took his chances by asking her. Technically, she had already agreed when Queenie had made her say she would help him a few days earlier but he wanted to make sure she really wouldn't mind by asking her again.

She had looked at him for a few seconds expressionlessly before agreeing tentatively. Queenie had been ecstatic, grinning widely and talking about how Newt and Tina would surely get along great if they only got to know each other a little better. Newt wasn't so sure about that but he didn't really know Tina all that well yet.

Newt and Tina met up at the library that Friday evening for their first tutoring lesson.

The two of them had made their way to the library after dinner, not having said much to each other while they had eaten. Newt was just grateful she decided to help him at all so he tried not to get on her nerves by talking.

Tina led him to a far off corner of the library where some talking wouldn't disturb other students and sat down at a small table. Newt followed her, sat down as well and looked at her clasped fingers. He knew she was watching him, what he didn't know was what she was hoping to find. Or what she wanted him to do or say.

"Um, I'm really grateful that you're trying to help me Tina." he murmured.

"You already said that. You don't need to keep repeating yourself."

Newt winced. "Okay. What should we start with?"

"Look at me."

Newt's muscles tensed and his gaze swept over her face, landing on a bookcase he could see next to her left ear.

Tina groaned. "You keep doing that. And I can't figure out if you're just really uncomfortable with people and don't know a thing about social interaction or if you're hiding something."

He didn't know what to do. Nobody had ever called him out on his shortcomings so bluntly and direct. Was she bothered by this? What did she think he was hiding?

When he didn't say anything for a few minutes Tina sighed. "Newt, I'm sorry. You asked me to help you and I will try to do so. Relax a little and let's get started, okay?"

He could see that she was trying to smile at him but she failed miserably.

Not knowing how to handle this situation and almost sure Tina didn't actually want to help him, he pushed his chair back and was almost standing when she stood up and grabbed his arm gently.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to insult you in any way. I'm just trying to figure you out and I'm failing. I don't like it." Tina said, looking at him softly.

"I'm sorry." That always seemed to be the best thing to say in any situation.

She laughed. "What are you sorry for? It's my problem. And even if you are hiding something, I will find out soon enough."

Newt's thoughts strayed to Pickett, who was slumbering happily in his breast pocket but he managed to keep himself from making any outward motion towards the Bowtruckle.

Would she tell on him if she found out about Pick? He didn't know and he didn't want to find out. A rare streak of annoyance ran through Newt. Who was she to be talking to him like that? He had done nothing wrong, at least he didn't think he had and she was accusing him of hiding things while flat out insulting his social abilities. He was aware of his shortcomings, he didn't need a stranger pointing them out to him.

For the first time since they've known each other, Newt looked into her eyes. Well, 'looking' was too weak a word, he glared at her.

"I don't know what your problem is, but if you didn't want to help me, you could have just said so. We could have saved a lot of time and I could have avoided being insulted by you. Thank you for your time, Miss Goldstein, but I think I'll be leaving now." Newt said quietly, still glaring at her, stood up and left.

Tina's eyes had widened during his speech and she sat with her mouth open for a few seconds before her brain registered his words. He was already halfway out of the library when she jumped up and ran after him. "Newt!"

"Shh!" the librarian hissed at her when she ran past her desk. Tina looked at her apologetically for a moment but said nothing, still pursuing the Brit.

She caught up to him just outside of the library doors and grabbed his arm, trying to stop him. He shook her off and continued walking quickly.

"Newt, I'm sorry!"

"I don't want to hear it Miss Goldstein."

Tina huffed, but continued to follow him. "Could you stay still for one moment so I can apologize?"

Newt turned his head for a second, staring straight at her. "No."

Tina rolled her eyes. "Now you're just being childish."

Newt didn't answer.

Tina quickened her pace until she was walking next to him. "You can't run away from me forever."

"Watch me."

She followed him for another few minutes, not saying anything. She hoped he would calm down a little if she didn't antagonize him any further. A few students looked at them curiously when they almost ran past them but nobody tried to stop them.

Newt suddenly stopped at a door not far from her own room, waved his hands until it opened and was about to shut the door in her face when her foot stopped him from closing the door.

"Huh. So you can do it." She mumbled.

Newt was starting to get a headache. "What are you talking about? Wait, never mind. I don't want to know. Get your foot out of my door and leave me alone."

"Not before you let me apologize properly."

"I don't think so. And I don't think I would even understand what you're doing, you know, cause of my limited understanding of social interactions."

Tina rolled her eyes. "I didn't mean it like that. I wasn't implying you were dumb or incapable of anything."

"Well, it sounded like it. Would you kindly remove your foot from my door now? I'm tired."

"It's not even eight yet."

Newt raised an eyebrow. "I'm going to bed _early_. It's been a busy week."

"Oh come on, this will only take a minute. Let me in and let me apologize. I don't like all the other students listening in." She motioned at a handful of students slowly walking past them, trying to look uninterested but failing miserably. She was sure she had seen one student walk by three times since they had stopped at Newt's room.

"As you pointed out so eloquently just a minute ago, it's after seven. What would the students think if I let you into my room at this time of day without supervision?"

Tina rolled her eyes again. "Oh, fuck off, and let me in for a second."

"Now you're cussing at me? Didn't your mother teach you any manners?"

Tina reeled back, eyes wide and mouth open, looking like she had been slapped. Before Newt could think about what he might have said to make her react like that, Tina clenched her hands into fists and looked at him furiously.

"If you don't want my apology, fine, you won't get it, Mr. Scamander." She hissed, turned around and stormed off.

Newt gaped after her, not knowing what had just happened. Scowling after her anyway, because she had insulted him first, he slammed the door shut loudly, hoping she had heard.

Tina stormed into her room and slammed the door shut behind her. She was about to grab her pillow to scream into it when she noticed her sister sitting on her sofa with a book in her hand, staring at her worriedly.

"Are you alright Teenie?"

"What are you doing here?" Tina grumbled and sat down on her bed, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Queenie closed her book and put it away, giving her sister her full attention. "I was waiting for you. I wanted to know how your session with Newt went."

Tina snorted. "What do you think?" she hissed, gritting her teeth.

"Why are you so angry? Did he say something?"

Tina pressed her lips together tightly, not saying anything. She had slammed up her occlumency shields as soon as she had noticed Queenie in the room, not wanting her to know what had been said.

"Come on Teenie, what happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it. Leave me alone please."

Queenie snorted. "You know I won't do that. You're upset and I want to know why."

"I'm not upset." Tina hissed, not understanding why her sister couldn't just leave her alone for once.

Queenie looked at her skeptically. "Clearly."

"What do you want Queenie? Don't you have your own room?"

The younger sister scowled. "I do. And I share it with four girls I can't stand and you know that. Why are you trying to push me away?"

"I'm not! I just want to be left alone for once! Can't you understand that?"

Queenie blinked. "Okay. I'm going to find Newt then. Maybe he will tell me what happened."

Tina's angry eyes turned to her sister. "No. You're not going to find anyone."

"Then tell me what happened."

The brunette continued to scowl but she knew her sister would never leave this alone. Tina tried to hold on to her anger but after thinking about things for a second, she knew Newt didn't mean it like that. He didn't know his comment would hurt her so badly. He was still a prick for not letting her apologize properly.

Tina sighed. "We had a fight."

"About wandless magic?"

Tina snorted. "We didn't even get to that. I said some things, he got angry and left the library, I followed him, trying to apologize but he wouldn't let me. When we reached his room he wanted to slam the door in my face, which is, hello, rude, and then he said something that hurt me and then I was angry and stormed off."

Queenie's eyebrows had risen during her sister's retelling. "A few more details would be appreciated Teenie. I can't help you if I don't know what you two said to each other."

Tina huffed but relaxed slightly, lying down on her back and staring at the ceiling. She didn't want to look at Queenie, already knowing that she would see disappointment on her sister's face. She had handled the situation with Newt pretty badly if she thought about it for a second.

"We went to the library to start the tutoring session. He was being awkward, like he always is and didn't know what to do with himself when we sat down. So he thanked me again for helping him out. He wasn't looking at me, he was doing this thing again where he kind off gives you attention but not really. I hate that."

Queenie chuckled. "I know, I noticed. But don't take it personally, I don't think he has looked anybody in the eyes since he arrived here."

"Oh he can do it if you make him angry enough."

The blonde sighed. "What did you do Teenie?"

Tina tried to fight the embarrassing blush trying to manifest on her cheeks but lost. "I told him that I didn't know if he was just really bad at social interactions or if he was hiding something."

Queenie groaned. "Why did you do that? I'm pretty sure he knows that conversations don't come to him as easily as they do to others. I'm sure he was embarrassed when you pointed it out to him. Why did you do that?"

The brunette groaned. "I don't know. I just want to figure him out. He's not talking about himself at all. He only ever listens when we're eating together and almost never starts a conversation. Why?"

"I think he's just shy."

"Yes, but we know nothing about him!"

"We've known him for a week, why would we?"

"If I don't know anything about him, how am I supposed to protect you?"

"You don't need to protect me."

"Yes I do!"

Queenie sighed. "You don't Teenie. I'm old enough to take care of myself now. I'm not that little girl anymore who couldn't help but cry all the time."

"Then why are you being so reckless? You're going to be in danger if people find out about your abilities."

The younger sister snorted. "You keep telling me that. What's the worst that could happen? They recruit me for the ministry and I have to work for them as soon as I leave school. That's not so bad."

"Not so bad? Do you know what you would have to do for them? Whose thoughts you would have to read? And do you really think they're going to let you go anywhere with all those secrets in your head? Or things you will undoubtedly overhear in the ministry? They will never let you go. You won't have a normal live, you'll live in a prison. Even if it has nice things in it. You'll never be free."

Queenie didn't know what to say. She knew her sister was worried about people finding out about her but she didn't know what exactly she had been worried about. Now she knew. She had never thought about it like that. She had assumed that working for the ministry would entail some paper-pushing desk job and maybe the occasional consultation with her special abilities. She hadn't thought about secrets or confidential information.

Tina looked at her sister's pale face and took her hand in hers. "Do you finally understand why I want you to be so careful? Why I want you to be careful when you chose new friends? You have no idea if Newt and Jacob will tell on you if they find out. They probably wouldn't do it on purpose but accidents happen all the time. I can't take that risk. You're the only one I have left and I can't lose you."

Queenie nodded and hugged her sister. Tina had scared her. But maybe it was for the best. But she still wanted friends. "Why haven't you told me about this before?"

Tina sighed, hugging her sister a little tighter. "I didn't want to scare you. You're still a child."

"I'm 15!"

"That doesn't make you an adult."

Queenie pouted. "I disagree."

"I know."

"I'm still going to continue my friendship with Newt and Jacob."

"I know."

"But I promise you that I'll be more careful from now on, okay?"

Tina sighed relieved. "Thank you."

Newt went to breakfast early the next morning. He didn't want to run into his 'friends'. Could he call them his friends? He didn't know. He thought Jacob was a nice guy and he could see himself becoming friends with him but he didn't know if the other boy even wanted to become his friend.

As for Queenie and Tina, well. Queenie was nice. A little loud but overall a friendly person. He didn't know why she was so interested in him and sought him out so often but he didn't really mind.

Tina. He thought she was nice as well. Quiet, like himself but sure of what she was doing. He thought she probably didn't mean anything rude by what she had said yesterday evening but it still hurt. He knew that he wasn't good at anything that had to do with social interactions, he just didn't know what he was supposed to do when things didn't go the way he expected them to go. And he did have something to hide. Namely the small green Bowtruckle currently hiding in his breast pocket. So she had not been wrong with anything she had said. That didn't mean he had wanted to hear it.

Newt sighed after he had finished his breakfast. _It doesn't matter anymore. She probably won't talk to me again after storming off the way she did. I wonder what I said to make her so angry_ , Newt mused as he made his way out of the front doors of Ilvermorny for the first time since arriving there.

He was met with the bright rays of the sun shining through a canopy of tall trees surrounding the tall gates of the school. There were trees as far as he could see, some tall ones, some smaller, younger ones but all of them stood proud and strong. He immediately felt comforted by the nature around him. There were no people around so he felt safe enough to let Pickett out of his pocket. The small Bowtruckle chirped excitedly as he made his way up to Newt's shoulder, watching his surroundings with interest.

There were pathways leading from the front doors around the sides of the school. He assumed they led to some kind of gardens or greenhouses. He wanted to check them out but for now, the tall trees called out to him. Students in their seventh year were allowed to explore the forest around the school during the day if they wanted to. He had asked the Headmistress about it when he had seen her at dinner two days ago. She had warned him about the wildlife and had told him to be careful, but he had just smiled and thanked her for her time.

As soon as he couldn't be seen from the school anymore, he breathed in deeply and relaxed considerably. He had been tense the whole week, scared of people finding out about Pickett and just the normal awkward tension that came with being the new student.

He wandered around the woods for maybe half an hour, just enjoying the peace and quiet. He met some animals along the way, some non-magical ones like deer and rabbits, but also some magical creatures like Kneazles and Gnomes. He could swear he had seen a small Horned Serpent slithering through the underbrush but he hadn't been fast enough to confirm it.

Pickett enjoyed himself as well, chirping excitedly whenever he saw a magical tree. Newt settled down under one of those to let his small green friend explore it and to give himself a break a while later. The Bowtruckle climbed on the tree quickly and explored every branch and knothole. He never strayed far though, always keeping Newt in his sight.

Newt stretched himself out, closing his eyes and enjoying the sun warming his legs. He was exhausted. Learning wandless magic as quickly as possible and trying to make new friends along the way was very tiring and he had looked forward to this break since his second day. It wasn't that he didn't like this school, there were some things he enjoyed greatly, like his own room for example but he did miss Hogwarts with it's creaking direction-changing staircases and mostly friendly ghosts floating through the hallways, always searching for new students to startle.

He got lost in his thoughts for a while but nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a distressed cry not far from his current position. He got up and looked around, trying to find the animal or creature who was in distress. Not even thinking about the possible dangers, Newt grabbed Pickett and went in search of the possibly hurt animal. When he heard the sound again, he changed directions and walked a few steps until he arrived at a small cliff. It wasn't very deep, just about four meters, but if one fell down there accidentally, they could still hurt themselves.

Newt looked around until he found a bright brown, almost copper set of feathers lying down near the cliff. The bird, Newt couldn't see what kind of bird it was yet, but the feathers were a sure sign about the breed, hadn't fallen down the cliff but something seemed to be wrong because it wasn't moving correctly.

Crouching down until his hands could touch the ground, Newt slowly made his way over to the distressed bird. The bird didn't notice him until Newt was only a meter away, but as soon as it did, its screeching got louder and it tried to get away.

"Shh, I won't hurt you." Newt said quietly, trying to calm the angry bird down. Now that he had gotten a good look at it, he was surprised to see that it was a Thunderbird. It couldn't be older than a few month, it was only as big as a large dog. It's feathers were a bright brown, almost copper color with white patches around the eyes and belly. Newt could swear some of it's feathers shimmered golden when the sun hit them just right. One of the bird's wings stood at an awkward angle and one of it's legs seemed to be injured as well, judging by the limping motions the Thunderbird made as it tried to get away.

"Shh, I'm not a threat, please calm down. I'm only trying to help you." Newt continued to mumble, hoping that the constant soothing sounds would calm the bird down. Newt didn't move from his position for about twenty minutes, waiting for the Thunderbird to calm down enough so he could approach it.

The bird seemed to be exhausted and couldn't continue it's protests any longer. It went quiet and sat down after a while, folding it's hurt wing under it's body in such a way that Newt couldn't see it anymore. Newt waited for another few minutes until he slowly approached it. His sore muscles were protesting from the awkward position he had to hold for almost half an hour but he didn't pay it any mind. All of his thoughts were focused on the injured Thunderbird.

"Hello, I'm Newt. Aren't you a magnificent creature." Newt mumbled as he carefully scratched the Thunderbird's neck. "What happened to you? You hurt your wing and leg, huh? That must hurt a lot. Can I take a look at it? I promise I won't hurt you."

As if the Thunderbird had understood Newt's words, it carefully unfolded its injured wing from under it's belly. "There you go." Newt mumbled as he carefully took the wing in his hands. He moved it around slowly, trying not to jostle it too much. Newt wasn't a doctor and he hadn't ever treated any kind of injuries to wings before but he was almost sure that at least one the bones in the wing was broken. "It looks like a clean break to me. But I'm not a doctor so I am not sure. I think just keeping it still until it heals on it's own should be enough. I'm sorry but I'm not really good enough with healing magic to just knit it back together."

Newt got his wand out of his pocket and transfigured a stick he had found nearby into a sling. He carefully slipped the sling around the Thunderbird's neck and shoulder and secured it tightly. The Thunderbird screeched loudly in protest but Newt's soothing murmurs and calm behavior calmed it down again quickly. After petting the Thunderbird for a moment, Newt coaxed it to let him look at it's leg. Nothing seemed to be broken but Newt suspected a heavy strain.

"Well" he patted the Thunderbird's neck affectionately, "your leg should heal on it's own. Just try and stay still for a while okay?"

The Thunderbird looked at him for a moment and sat down again, making itself as small as possible. It let out a small whimper. "You're hungry. I'll try and find something for you, alright?" Newt said and stood up, patting his trousers, trying to get rid of the dirt stains.

He went in search of some small rodents and came back with two rats. The Thunderbird gratefully accepted the food and gulped them down quickly. Newt sat down next to the bird when it was done eating. Newt spent the next few hours relaxing at the Thunderbird's side, both of them enjoying the peace and quiet.

"You really are a beautiful creature." Newt said after a while as he looked at the shimmering feathers of his companion. "Do you have a name?"

The Thunderbird kept it's eyes closed, enjoying the last rays of the sun before it vanished behind a mountain. The corner of the cliff Newt and the Thunderbird were occupying was swept into darkness very quickly and Newt glanced worriedly in the direction of the school.

He sighed. "I have to go now. I'm not allowed to stay in the forest after dark, I think I'm already cutting it close. But I'll come back tomorrow, okay? I don't think you will be able to hunt with your wing and leg so I'm going to bring you something to eat until you can hunt again."

The Thunderbird clicked some sounds in Newt's direction which the boy took as consent.

Newt scratched the Thunderbird's neck one last time, got up and hurried in the direction of Ilvermorny. He hoped nobody would notice his lateness.


End file.
